The Flanders Northampton Volunteer
Ambulance was organized in 1983, incorporated in 1984 and ran its first call in
May 1985. The 40-member corps has had
many firsts in its 20 year history.
They were the first ambulance district formed in the Town of Southampton
in 1987; the first Suffolk County volunteer corps to become NYS Certified in
1988; and ran the initial NYS pilot project in semi-automatic defibrillation a
year later (April 1989), 6 months before Suffolk County developed a system-wide
EMT-D program. The corps applied to NYS
for an EPI Pen pilot program in April 1991; EPI Pens would be introduced at the
EMT level by Suffolk County in 2000.
The FNVA Ambulance district covers
approximately 30 square miles in Eastern Suffolk County, and borders Riverhead,
Eastport, Westhampton and Hampton Bays.
Besides their residential area, the FNVA covers Suffolk County Community
College (Riverhead Campus), The Evan K. Griffing County Center, The Suffolk
County Correctional Facility, and County and State Parklands.
In October 2002 Suffolk County EMS
announced that The Flanders Northampton Vol. Ambulance Co. and their neighbor,
Riverhead Ambulance, had the top response times in the County in the year 2001.
The FNVA has also brought home several
first place trophies with their popular Big Duck and Duckling floats, parade
route favorites.
The corps is looking forward in 2005 to the 20-year anniversary of their first ambulance calls.